Todd Greenberg has copped it over rugby league’s financial state -— but the clubs aren’t blameless. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

We'll start at Penrith. In 2015, they sacked Ivan Cleary and paid him out for a full year.

They brought in Anthony Griffin then 18 months later they extended Griffin's contract. A few months later, they sacked Griffin, despite the team running in fourth place on finals eve. It's a $1.6 million payout.

Then they brought back Cleary and are paying him $1 million a season. He can't even make the finals.

Then Gus Gould, the man who sacked Cleary and Griffin, negotiated himself a $1 million redundancy.

Ivan Cleary was sacked by the Panthers, and then brought back on big money. Picture: Jonathan Ng

It doesn't stop there. They unloaded Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and paid part of his salary at Canterbury.

They unloaded Waqa Blake and paid part of his salary at Parramatta.

They unloaded Reagan Campbell-Gillard and paid part of his salary at Parramatta.

They unloaded Trent Merrin and paid part of his salary at Leeds in the UK Super League.

It's sounding like a broken record but we'll keep going anyway.

This club also pays the companies of three of its directors $1.3 million for various services - Greg Alexander, chairman Dave O'Neill and board member Ian Hicks.

And now Penrith's $800,000-a-year CEO Brian Fletcher is threatening to abandon support to the biggest junior league nursery in the competition, blaming coronavirus, not the above examples of outrageous overspending.

In isolation with Matty Johns. Don't miss his latest podcast where Matt is joined by his wife Trish and his two rugby league-playing sons Cooper and Jack.